Diane Rogers

Al Slinkard knows what farmers should have grown last summer – Maple peas. They are selling for $16 a bushel right now, the University of Saskatchewan crop professor told growers at the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association during Crop Production Week. The peas are prized in Great Britain, where they are fed to racing pigeons. […] Read more

Increasing their membership will be the main aim of prairie women’s institutes in 2003. But working against that are the age and health of the average WI member, now a grandmother in her 60s. “We are still having a tough year,” said Saskatchewan WI president Virginia Kreklevich of Foam Lake. While the 92-year-old group gained […] Read more

CUT KNIFE, Sask. – They have millions of individuals to ride herd on, but the Pedersens have few problems with strays. Their honeybee operation, situated in the rolling, treed hills of western Saskatchewan, doesn’t tolerate aggressive bees that tend to fly away to greener fields. Their losses are mainly due to age, weather and culling. […] Read more

Carl Palmer was more optimistic eight weeks ago than he is today. Leaning on his two canes at a Winnipeg conference of the Canadian Farmers with Disabilities Registry in early November, he explained his group’s big plans. It had just met Nov. 2 with an Agriculture Canada official who suggested there might be money in […] Read more

Canadian farm women leaders were pleased that they got to present their viewpoints to federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief in Ottawa Dec. 10. It was the first time the group had met him in two years, even though a 1994 agreement had said the minister would meet annually with the five organizations representing farm women. […] Read more

Being a good neighbour is a two-way street, says Cliff Whitelock. The Drayton Valley, Alta., cattle producer and his wife, Audrey, won last month’s good farm neighbour award at a ceremony sponsored by the United Farmers of Alberta, and a radio station and magazine. “I’ve always tried to be a decent neighbour, and help with […] Read more

Once upon a time there was a grandmother who wanted to make a special time with her two granddaughters. So she waved her wand and created a tea party. The magic that Kathy Chaplin performed was too good for onetime use. So the rural Saskatoon bed-and-breakfast operator decided to turn it into a regular event […] Read more

The roar of snowmobiles churning through prairie highway ditches next month will be the soundtrack to a fight against cancer. For eight days, from Jan. 24-31, 10 women in Saskatchewan and 10 in Manitoba will hop on their snowmobiles and drive until dusk to raise money for breast cancer research. Each team will drive 1,600 […] Read more

It all depends on Ottawa producing the money, say prairie people reacting to Roy Romanow’s recommendations for medicare. “I’m partially optimistic” about Ottawa coming up with the billions recommended, said Alex Taylor, chair of the board of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations. “There will be enough pressure from the public.” Taylor said the suggestion […] Read more

You do what you have to do, one farmer says when explaining the common habit of taking young children to the farm worksite. Verna Thompson said most farmers are caught by time and money, and too isolated to try alternative solutions. When a farmer is kilometres away from the neighbours and needs help, he will […] Read more